In His Mind
by Shirotsuki
Summary: Rukia has always wondered what Byakuya thought of her. When they set out on a mission together along with others, she gets closer to finding out. ByakuRuki
1. Thinking and Realizing

Hello everyone! This is my second fic, and my first long fanfic, so please be easy on me! I love ByakuRuki, but I don't see enough of it around so I decided again to write some yummy ByakuRuki goodness. Yum yum. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

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Nii-sama. Byakuya. Kuchiki-sama. Him.

He was a mystery to her. Everytime she seemed to get herself in a troubling predicament he'd always come to save her at the last possible minute. He always seemed to choose that last minute to save her, but he always succeeded in protecting her. Was it because of laziness to move until she was completely helpless, or was it because he wanted to test her capabilities? She wondered.

Whenever their eyes met, he would always act indifferent, as if she wasn't someone special to him. What was she, Kuchiki Rukia, to him, Kuchiki Byakuya, anyways? A sibling? His late wife's sister? A burden?

She definitely did not want to become a burden. All the time, she'd train until her body lay battered and her hair drenched with sweat. At the end of the day, she would be so worn-out, Renji would drag her tired ass home after accompanying her with her training. She silently thanked Renji for having to carry her back to the Kuchiki house everyday even when he was probably exhausted as well. Rukia desperately wanted to make sure she wasn't in Byakuya's way.

But most of all, she wanted to impress him, for him to change his uncaring glances, she wanted to show him she could do _something_. So far, she had been unsuccessful. Was she not worthy enough? After all, he had even gone through the trouble of suppressing her position in the Gotei 13. Everyone thought she was definitely in the vice-captain level, but he didn't seem to think so.

But it wasn't like he looked down at her in disdain or anything. It was just that he didn't seem to care if she accomplished something new or not. She knew she should have given up ages ago, but she refused to. She wanted to be worthy. She didn't want to appear weak to one of the people she respected most. No way.

Rukia put her face into her hands. With all this thinking, she knew her hair would turn gray even before Ichigo's would. What made her think of all of this anyways? Sometimes she thought so deep into it, she'd forget why she even bothered to impress him in the first place. She constantly reminded herself that she wanted him to see her as an equal, but she wasn't so sure anymore.

The more she thought of it, the more confused she got, that was for sure. Once, she almost thought she actually loved Byakuya (and not in the sibling/family way either) and that was why she wanted attention from him so much. There was no way she'd actually fall in love with her brother…right?

_Then why else would you want so much attention?_

Rukia stood up and paced around the room. No way. No way. No way. This was _not_ happening. She was his _sister_ for god's sake! For more reasons than one, it was wrong. Adopted sister or not, there was still the fact that she was the sister of his late _wife_. She could not fall in love with him. It was hopeless anyways, he would never return her feelings, and it'd be a hopeless, unrequited love.

She chuckled. Rukia knew if Renji or Ichigo knew about this, they'd freak out and haul (and literally _haul_) her to the 4th Division to get her head checked. They were especially protective of her, there was no way they'd let this go.

Rukia groaned and lied down on her back while clutching her contorted face.

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"Kuchiki-san? Are you alright? I heard some groaning." A servant passing by had overheard Rukia and truthfully, was more curious than concerned about her.

Muffled groan.

"Kuchiki-saaaan?" He started getting worried.

Grooaaan.

"Kuchiki-san! Hang in there! I'll call the 4th Division!" Now he started panicking.

"No, I'm fine, re—" She started, but the young male had already ran as fast as his legs could take him and sprinted out of Rukia's vicinity before she could stop him. Damn. Damn. Damn. Groaaaaan.

Suddenly, she felt queasy. Was the room spinning or was that her imagination? And was her skin always this green? That couldn't be right…

She rushed to the washroom just before anything could come up, leaned over the sink and let her stomach do all the work. When she was done throwing up, she slowly trudged her way back to the cold flooring of her room. She was definitely not well. Her head pounded and her stomach still felt sick, she seemed to also have a fever.

"I called her several times, but she just kept groaning and I guessed there was something wrong with her. I was going to call the 4th Division, but I met you on the way." It was the servant from before again.

"I see. You may go now. I'll call you when I need you to call the 4th Division." said a smooth, deep voice.

It was Byakuya.

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How was it? Bad? Good? I know it's kind of repetitive and not really going anywhere, truthfully, I had a hard time thinking of ways to end this chapter. I was even thinking to make this another one-shot, but naaaah. I might not update a lot (I'm not much of a write, to say the truth), but I'll try. Thank you everyone for reading this chapter and don't forget to review!


	2. Checking up and Leaving

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of its characters.

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"Rukia. Open the door." His voice was not demanding or serious, but it was firm. It was clear he did not want her talking back or try to talk herself out of getting checked on.

Rukia slowly slid her feet in miniscule steps to delay as much time as possible. The wood paneling of the floor was chilly under her bare feet. Without her realizing, winter had already come. The leaves fell quickly, leaving exposed skeletal branches on trees. She slid the shoji door open with one slim hand.

"Nii-sama." Her voice trembled slightly and she hoped Byakuya would not notice. If he did, he might think that she really _was_ sick. She was 100 percent sure she wasn't sick. She just needed to lie down and stop _thinking_, that was all. Her mind and stomach definitely did not like thinking about complicated matters.

Byakuya stepped into her room and glanced around. It was simple, not cluttered, but not completely immaculate either. Her futon lay unfolded and shamelessly scattered around the flooring, showing a mess. But other than that, the room was noticeably quite empty. There was a shelf neatly filled with scrolls and books in a corner of the room and a wardrobe in the other corner with a window beside it. There had also been a way to go outside into the garden via a shoji door at the back.

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Rukia noticed him staring around her room. Was her room too messy? She grimaced at the unmade futon lying chaotically under her feet. Since waking up, she had not bothered to make her bed, as she had not left her room yet. However, Byakuya was not one to come into her room often, and already, this was not a good impression of her cleanliness.

"I was told you were sick. Do you have a fever?" Byakuya reached out his slim hand and tenderly placed it upon her forehead. She felt his luke-warm touch and stiffened. She was not used to her brother caring for her, however, she really _could_ get used to this. She inadvertently shivered in delight.

"I'm fine, Nii-sama. I am most sorry for troubling you with myself…" she was grateful that he was there, but she knew to keep her manners in check. Even though he was her brother, she still had to know her place. He was the head of the family, therefore everyone had to respect him.

"You do not seem to have a fever. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?" Byakuya queried after letting down his hand. Already, Rukia missed its warmth.

"I'm fine, really, there's no need to worry, Nii-sama." Rukia assured him. She'd never be able to live it down if he called the 4th Division because she threw up when she got too confused. Especially if she was confused about whether she loved her brother in that way or not. She'd be ashamed to even face Ichigo and Renji, they'd laugh in her face for sure if they realized it was because she was _thinking_.

Byakuya wasn't quite sure if she was stubborn on getting help or annoyed with him. Her face had both features etched on it at once. Maybe she was both annoyed and stubborn, who knows. After all, he had gone into her room and acted like he had been the most caring brother she could ever have. Which was not the case. He knew he could never change the fact that he almost allowed the fact of Rukia being executed. He had left her there in the Senzaikyuu, her spiritual energy slowly eating away, when she hadn't really done anything wrong. Everyone should've seen the peculiar ways of how the soukyoku was used on her when it was only used on captain-ranks. It was noticeable, yet so subtle, anyone thinking hard enough should be able to see. Yet, he failed to see that fact and almost broke the promise he had made to Hisana. He could not tell if he loved Hisana more or his will to abide by the law.

"Nii-sama?" he had been looking out into space for quite some time now. At first, she thought he had been concentrated on something out her window, but nothing was there.

"Nii-sama?" she repeated again, Byakuya didn't seem to realize she had been calling out to him.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" he jolted back into reality, not knowing Rukia had already called out his name the second time. Rukia shook her head. "Then I'll be taking my leave now. If there's anything wrong, tell one of the servants and they'll be sure to tell the 4th Division… and be careful, don't overexert yourself." And with that, he got up and left, leaving Rukia flustered and confused once again, about her emotions.

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Sorry for the shortness of these chapters! I'm not used to writing pages and pages of writing, so please bear with this length until I get used to writing longer chapters, I promise it'll be soon! And Rukia doesn't have a fever, it just seemed like it because of the heat of her body when she was nervous. And uuuh…please excuse any typos and grammar mistakes I have!


	3. Shock and Confidence

Here's chapter three! Enjoy!

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Rukia made her way quietly towards the 13th Division. She had been hoping to train and take her mind off indecent thoughts of her brother and refrain from feeling sick again. Training always took her mind off of things, no matter how important. It was a drawback when she needed to remember something significant, but right now, it was bliss. However, a frantic messenger promptly stopped her and she exasperatedly turned around to talk to him.

"Kuchiki Rukia-san! There's a mission for you from the captain, he wants you to see him right away at his office!" he panted out. It was evident he had been running around just to find her.

"What could he want me for?" she breathed out in an unnerved manner.

"Not sure. This was all he said to tell you. He seemed urgent."

"Alright. I'll go see him now. Thank you for informing me." She smiled and the messenger bowed and gratefully ran off as he had finally found her and his work had been done.

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When Rukia arrived at Ukitake's office, the door had been ajar and she peered inside to see he had been snoring away on his desk. Sheets of paper were littered around on top of his desk, it was clear he had gotten bored of doing paperwork and decided to take a nap instead. Rukia knocked loudly, hoping to get a reaction.

"Who is it? I'm sleeping…" he drawled out.

"Ukitake– taichou? You wanted to see me?" Rukia responded impatiently at her captain's incompetence. The messenger had said he was _urgent_ too, obviously the captain wasn't urgent at all if he had the time to take a snooze.

"Uh… what? Oh! Rukia!" he finally snapped awake and realized that Rukia had been standing in the doorway.

"Geez. Sleeping on the job… Atleast try and do it more secretively, the door was wide open!"

"Sorry about that" he chuckled embarrassedly. However, his face immediately turned to being stern. Rukia knew however ridiculous her captain and his tone of voice before was, it was gone. He was now talking business.

"I called you to assign you to an important mission. More and more hollows are appearing in soul society and in Ichigo's world and recently they've developed a way to release a kind of chemical gas into the air causing it to be lethal to both inhabitants of Ichigo's world and soul society. The virus is similar to having many diseases and colds combined into one large virus and as a result, the rate of death is unsympathetically increased. The signs of the virus in someone are quite subtle and very unpredictable for everyone as well. The chemical gasses meddle with the immune system and eventually take over and kill off the healthy cells, so signs for the virus are unsystematic. The person could get coughs first or a sore throat, depending on what the immune system wants to get rid of first, making it very difficult to track." He coughed having to talk so much.

"But… what… h-how?" she stuttered. This was unbelievable. Hadn't the hollows calmed down after Aizen had been defeated? Not long ago, Soul Society made sure that any threats were eliminated so that nothing like Aizen would break out for a _very_ long time if not never.

All the members of Espada had been defeated and killed and Aizen had been killed as well, along with Tousen. The defeat and death of Aizen was to the courtesy of Ichigo. It had been a hard feat, but he had done it, coming back battered, broken and was teetering dangerously on the ledge of life, but luckily, he was still alive.

Tousen had died by the hands of Komamura. Tousen had been too bent on his goals, he couldn't see left from right anymore. There was no helping it. He was to die. They both knew it was destined that one of them would die by one another's hands. It was an unspoken promise for the both of them.

However, Gin had proved himself to be good again (with much begging from Matsumoto for the captains to give him another chance), though he was forbidden to leave his quarters for a good hundred years to prove he was worthy of forgiveness. Gin had been a good captain, there was no denying that. Soul Society needed someone like him to take back his seat in the Gotei 13. They had too many seats to fill in and too little of the worthy people. Matsumoto insisted that he had just taken a very wrong path and that there was still room for making up for his wrongs so the captains decided to give him a second chance. Many people frowned down upon it (including Byakuya), but there was no denying the fact that they were in desperate need for shinigamis to fill the empty void of captains that Aizen had brought on.

But why had something come out so soon? Soul Society had just calmed down, there was no way they could take the damage again. Many shinigamis had been lost in the struggle to defeat Aizen and his buddies, causing Soul Society to have a severe lack of shinigamis. If this abnormal outbreak was as serious as Rukia thought it was, there was a possibility that Soul Society could not make it through this time.

"It seems the hollows have another leader." Ukitake said with a grim face. "The leader seems to be bent on destroying not only Soul Society, but Ichigo's world as well. The motive is unknown, but the chief is, without doubt, firm about his goal and not backing down. So far, the epidemic seems to be his first move, and it's absolutely a powerful one, unluckily for us. So the captains and I have discussed this and we've all agreed for you, Ichigo, Renji, and Matsumoto to go to investigate. The 10th division captain, Hitsugaya-kun, and your brother, Byakuya, will accompany you to make sure everything is alright. Can you please inform Ichigo about this as soon as possible? We've already informed Renji and the others." He finished.

Rukia nodded weakly and stepped out of the captain's office and made her way to Ichigo's world to inform him of the upcoming events.

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"Ichigo!" Rukia called out as she barged into his room without bothering to knock.

"Damn it, Rukia!" He frantically pulled up his pants as he had been in the middle of changing until Rukia had come in. "I'm changing here! You could've at least knocked!"

"Whoa!" she exclaimed as she hastily turned around and blushed furiously behind her back. But she couldn't stop herself from snickering a bit at Ichigo unique selection of pink boxers (he later claimed that they were '_fashionable'_). "Well, how was I suppose to know you were changing!?"

"By _knocking_?"

Rukia scoffed and shut herself up, as she knew he had been right (But still, it didn't change the fact that he had pink boxers…). When Ichigo had successfully put on pants and a shirt, he turned to face Rukia.

"So? What'd you need me for?" he asked. She speedily explained the whole dilemma as clearly as she could without stopping. It seemed that every minute wasted, more of the plague would spread and the more people that would die, she could not bear for that to happen.

"Damn it." He ran his hands through his hair in an irritated manner. "I guess there's no helping it, huh?"

"Nope, afraid not." She chuckled.

"Well, let's get going then." Even though he said this breezily, Rukia knew he was excited. He had not practice his skill since Aizen, which was well over a year ago, so he was thrilled to get back on his feet.

The both of them made their way through to enter Soul Society with a new objective in their mind, content on saving both the worlds they loved and the people in it.


	4. Reunion and then some

Here's chapter 4!

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"Rukia! Ichigo!"

"Renji!"

Both Rukia and Ichigo headed over to Renji who had been waiting at the entrance for their arrival. He seemed a bit excited to be working alongside them again, but shared the mutual worry they all had. If they went on this mission, their life would also be at risk of the epidemic. There was no guarantee that the 12th or the 4th Division would find a cure if they were to be infected.

It was obvious that the trio all loved eachother, no matter how much they pretended they fought and competed with eachother. If they were to be separated, a hole would surely forever remain in their hearts. They had unspoken bonds between them just as the former 7th Division and former 9th division captains had, whether it be protecting eachother or coping through the difficulties of life, the three of them would always be together.

"So you guys heard of the news, eh?" Renji sighed.

"Yeah…" Ichigo exasperatedly voiced in defeat "Those damn hollows! Trying to destroy everything again after we just finally built everything back!" he continued to angrily shout.

"How many times do we have to kick their asses for them to understand, anyways?!"

Renji joined in Ichigo's fuming rants, but all Rukia could do was silently agree with the two of them. It was going to be a hazardous mission where any of them could die and not only that, it was also _tiring._ It strained her physical strength _and_ her emotional capacity. Her brother was going to be there, but she did not know whether or not she wanted him there or not. But she wanted to prove to herself she did not have a crush on her brother. She wanted to prove that she didn't care about him. Sure, he was attractive and mysterious and tall and…

Rukia mentally smacked herself. As his sister and as his late wife's sister, she was _not_ to think of such things of him. But technically, she was his _adopted_ sister, so they didn't have any blood relation…

"Rukia! Don't you think so?!" Ichigo yelled, successfully waking Rukia from her thoughts. But due to the fact that she was not actually listening at all to their heated complaining, her only reply was a grunt.

"What? Did you say something, Rukia?"

"Nothing." It seemed like Ichigo didn't really care about her opinion and had already moved onto the next subject with Renji, so she didn't bother to repeat herself.

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"So, Byakuya, what do you think of your upcoming mission?" Gin took a sip of the cup of sake he had held in his hand.

The former 3rd Division captain had been lonely recently, cooped up in his large manor. He was allowed outside his home under someone's watch, but the scornful and hateful glances sent his way by a passer-by was not something he was up for on most days. Usually he would call Matsumoto for company, but because she had been unusually busy recently, all he had as company was sake and the 6th Division captain.

"Sending the captain of the 10th division is completely unnecessary. I am enough for this mission."

"Ah, you shouldn't say such things! You never know what may happen! You never know what might happen to _Rukia-chan_!"

"Hn." Byakuya simply grunted and pretended not to hear his last statement. He was probably drunk.

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When it was nighttime, Rukia returned to the Kuchiki house a little too worn out. After many distractions, she was able to focus on training so she took the chance to prepare for her upcoming mission. There was sure to be powerful hollows and opponents if so many of the top shinigamis, not to mention the two captains, were subjected to this mission. Rukia did not want to drag the rest of the team down if her skills were not up to par.

Rukia dragged her tired body over to the entrance of the Kuchiki house. The servants bowed and greeted her. It was amazing how the servants, trained for only a small period of time, had more grace than she did. She had been in the Kuchiki house for such a long time, yet she was not able to obtain level of formality and even the little bit of poise the servants possessed. It was sad, really.

"Welcome back, Rukia-sama." One servant said.

"Would you like us to prepare a bath for you?" another servant insisted, as she had noticed Rukia was grimy with dirt and sweat.

"Yes, that would be great, thank you." Rukia smiled back gratefully. Damn. Even the servants thought she was grubby.

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Rukia lowered herself into the steaming water. She welcomed the warmth, however her cuts from training stung wherever the water touched. She hissed a little. Today had been especially rough, maybe she had gone a little too overboard? Her body ached with prolonged exercise. She felt a little like an old lady, complaining about how much her joints were sore and that they hurt, especially when she had wrinkly skin while her stay in the wooden bathtub.

However, even though she throbbed with fatigue all over her body, the water was relaxing and the scent of the variety of flower petals put on top of the water was pleasant. The steam of the water made the room temperature just right, causing drowsiness. Her eyelids started drooping down a bit by bit, but she hadn't even realized she had fallen asleep until she heard knocking on the door of the bathroom.

"Rukia-sama, dinner is ready. Byakuya-sama is also home as well and will be dining with you." a servant informed.

"I see. Thank you. You may go now."

After the servant scurried away, Rukia heaved a sigh and hauled her weary body out of the water. She was tired and all she wanted was to have a nice, unwinding nap to release all and any tension she currently had in her body. However, because her brother was also attending dinner, she could not refuse.

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So? How was it? Wanna review? ;D And sorry for not updating for awhile )': I had a crazy writer's block so I left the story alone for a while… But now it's back again, so enjooooy!


	5. Packing up and Getting ready to go

Sorry for such a late chapter, folks / I didn't have much inspiration in writing this for some reason, but when I got down to writing, it flowed pretty smoothly, so that I'm grateful of.

The weird thing is, I seem to always have the most determination to write when it's nearly like, 3 in the morning (and that's around the time whenever I finish too).

Anyways, enjoy!

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Dinners with Byakuya and the other nobles were always abnormally silent. The captain of the 6th Division and his 'posses', she liked to call them, were naturally quiet, only uttering words when having to. Maybe it was only because of Byakuya's presence that the other nobles were silent, who knows? Rukia had never had the need to have dinner alone with them without her brother with her, nor did she want to have dinner alone with them.

Silence buzzed by Rukia's ears. If it were any normal awkward dinner, she would've spoken up long ago, however, in the Kuchiki household, dinner with the head of the family was always formal. She was not to speak unless spoken to. That was the rule for her and always was.

Not that she really minded though. Normally, she didn't even feel the need to even look at the other family nobles, let alone talk to them. She hated their ways and she was sure they felt that she was a vile mark on their perfect little household of perfect records.

Rukia scoffed inwardly. It wasn't as if she _asked_ for this to happen. How would she know that she would be adopted into one of the elite families of soul society? Honest to god, she wanted to work to the top with Renji, not take some shortcut. But she couldn't say no. She _couldn't._

They had been the ones urging her into joining the family and it was _they_ who were putting so much pressure on her, as if the fate of the clan was in her hands. Saying 'no' seemed like she was saying some sort of bad word and that they'd punish her for saying it. Forbidden. Forbidden. Forbiddenforbiddenforbiddenforbidden.

Rukia elegantly (or at least tried to) put a small bit of rice into her mouth and reached for some smoked fish.

"Rukia." Byakuya said her name softly, letting it roll off his tongue and into the air.

"Hmm? Yes, nii-sama?" she put some smoked fish into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"You should start packing today. I was informed that you were to leave in the morning for the outside of gates." He continued, "You, Kurosaki Ichigo, Renji, and the vice captain of the 10th Division are going to be going to Rukongai first and check things out. The 10th Division Captain and I will be joining up with you later on as we have more important matters to attend at that time."

Rukia nodded timidly. After swallowing the food in her mouth, she asked, "Approximately how long are we going to be there for?"

"We're expecting for you to be there for about a week, just to see how far the hollows have spread out."

"I see."

Of course they were going first. Sending such a small task as checking up on the progress was offending to a captain. A small job like this was left to them, the not-as-important-people.

Rukia ate the rest of her dinner in silence.

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After finishing up dinner, the table cleared up. The servants cleaned up the table, they never had to do it. Everything was left to the servants. Rukia tried to help with chores numerously during her earlier days in entering the Kuchiki house, as she was not used to the service, but the servants always declined her offers. They could never let someone of such a high status now to help them with such trivial things such as dishwashing.

When Rukia stood up to leave, her brother's smooth, silky voice resounded into her ears as if it were music.

"Would you like any assistance with packing for the mission?" he offered.

Rukia chuckled to herself. Her brother could be so caring sometimes, even if he didn't show it often.

"It's alright, Nii-sama, I'll make sure to bring everything I need." She said softly and smiled. She knew her brother was secretly worried about her and that he didn't want her forgetting anything she needed.

The solemn captain nodded, "Let me know if you need help then, Rukia." And with that, he left towards his room.

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Soap, shampoo, an extra set of clothes, some medicine (in case something happens), bandages…

Check.

She put all of this in a small bag, stuffing everything in. Only a week away was not a long time, therefore not needing a lot of supplies. They wouldn't even need food, as they (even Ichigo) were trained to last even longer than that without anything to eat. Some first aid supplies and some things to stay clean was all that was necessary. At least in Rukia's eyes it was.

She wanted to pack things light, even if she was told either Ichigo or Renji was going to carry her load. She didn't want to weigh them down, as it would cause problems in during duty.

But secretly, she cared for them and didn't want them having to carry a ton of things for fears they would have back pain or something. One never knows what might happen.

Rukia did not think of the mission as 'lonely', but she thought it nice to have _some_ female companionship on their task. Growing up, she was always surrounded with males, and now, she was _still_ surrounded with males. Being a girl, she wanted a little camaraderie with that of the same gender. Guys couldn't understand all of what Rukia was sometimes going through, so every now and then she just kind of wished someone did understand her.

Sure, the 10th Division vice-captain was also coming along, but she wasn't exactly familiar with Matsumoto-san. They knew eachother, yes, but almost only through the information in files. They weren't even on the level of saying 'Hi' to eachother when passing by.

But Rukia took this as a chance to make a new friend.

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So? How was it? Reviews, anyone?


	6. Unexpected breakfast and Seeing off

Sorry everyone about the absence! It was about time I updated, huh? I was sort of busy with school and I had no inspiration to write, but hopefully I can make up for it with this slightly-longer-but-not-really chapter!

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The next morning, what Rukia would have never expected was that her brother had joined her for breakfast. Normally, Byakuya would have already left to his office at his headquarters and had eaten his breakfast long before she would have.

However, there he was, taking his time eating the hearty bowl of rice, miso soup, and other side dishes the chefs had poured their hearts into making. Rukia was just slightly taken back at the change.

"Nii-sama." Rukia breathed out shakily.

When Byakuya looked up from his meal, he saw that Rukia was still looking down at him (albeit a little flustered) and had not taken a seat. He should have known that Rukia was still not quite used to him after, what, 50 years?

"Rukia, sit down." He said softly.

"Y-yes, nii-sama." She stuttered while pulling out a chair and setting her bottom down. A servant came promptly to set down her serving of specially prepared food.

"Ah, yes, thank you." Rukia smiled gratifyingly to the servant.

"Are you all ready for the mission today?"

"Yes, I'll be sure not to burden Renji and Ichigo." She assured him. She would never jeopardize this mission.

Byakuya shifted his gaze away from Rukia and to the blank wall next to her, but the softening of his face later did not go unnoticed by Rukia.

"It was not the mission I was worried about." He said tenderly.

Rukia smiled (and blushed) a little and they continued the rest of their breakfast in comfortable silence. When it was time for him to leave, Byakuya stood up, setting off to his office, as he had work to get done.

Along with the servants, Rukia stood up as well and bowed a little, bidding him farewell with a gentle smile not so different from Hisana's.

"Have a good day, nii-sama. Don't exert yourself too much."

Byakuya chuckled quietly to himself. Even though Hisana and Rukia looked remarkably similar, they were different people. Hisana was a much more… fragile person, both mentally and physically. She was one to catch colds and illnesses easily, so she was not exposed to the outside much for fear that her weak body would wither away faster than before.

However, mentally, Hisana was more broken down than her body could ever be. Somewhere at the back of his mind, he knew that Hisana did not actually _want_ to be placed in the Kuchiki household. He knew what the elders thought of her and how they looked at her with scorn and disdain. However, she always acted like it was all okay when she was with him and that she didn't care what they thought of her and that their love was enough to make it all alright. Through her sweet nothings, he was lead to believe it _was_ actually going to be okay and that if she were to live in the Kuchiki manor, she and he would still have the happy life they had up until then.

Yet, not until after she had left him alone in the world did he realize how wrong he was. Under her mask of acts and white lies, she was crumbling away faster and faster until all that was left in the end was a frail body and tears that even the great Kuchiki Byakuya could not stop. In her last hours beside her most loved one, she cried of lost times they never had, the happiness they missed out, and the future they lost. Byakuya never felt so helpless beside her. He watched her fade away slowly, going to a place he only hoped he could reach, and all he could do was mourn alongside her and make her promises that he wasn't even sure he could actually fulfill.

He knew it was the elders and the rest of the household that urged her to break down and break away from the world. She wasn't welcomed into the family and never had been. Their distaste for her pressured her and she probably knew that her mind could not take it any longer, so she wanted to say goodbye to her sister who she had forsaken.

Byakuya wanted to forever blame the rest of the world for what happened to Hisana, but deep down, he knew that he could not blame others for his own selfishness. _He_ was the one that insisted that she were to come into the family and for them to get to know her. He knew that if he hadn't, Hisana would still be living happily by his and Rukia's side today. He forever hated himself for not noticing then just how unhappy Hisana was.

Rukia, on the other hand, was stronger in so many ways. Unlike her frail sister, Rukia took the world on full force. She sought after her ambition of becoming a shinigami and succeeded triumphantly as she was easily vice-captain level.

Also, undeniably, Rukia was so much more able-bodied in the mind than Hisana had been. Rukia did not, and would not, let the ridicules of the seniors affect her in any way. They slipped spiteful comments towards her, and sometimes she let them get to her, but Renji, Ichigo, and the rest of the ryoka gang was always there to help her and get her confidence back up.

Rukia had _friends_, something Hisana didn't have. Byakuya was convinced that he was enough to help her through, but he had been wrong and paid dearly for it. He didn't know whether Hisana blamed him for forcing her into the family, but he knew, the only way he could atone for what he had done was to make sure Rukia had a good life and that she would not end up in the same predicament as Hisana had been in.

Byakuya intended to keep his promise. Never again will he let Hisana's heart break.

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It was not until after Byakuya had left until Rukia realized how late she was to meet the rest of her party at the gates. She had been too busy staring off into space and thinking about how her brother had the dreamiest gaze that she had not noticed what time it was.

The young shinigami gobbled down the rest of her meal faster than before and sped out the front door, hoping the rest of her crew would not get _too_ mad.

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Carrying a considerately light pack, Rukia made her way towards the gates separating Soul Society and the poverty-stricken Rukongai. Already, she could see the faint silhouette of Ichigo, Renji, and Matsumoto waiting. Sorry that she was late, as tardiness was not permitted in her books, she made her way to the two males.

"Oi! Rukia! You're late!" Ichigo shouted from the other end.

"I couldn't help it, I was caught up in something." She protested weakly. She definitely couldn't say that she was late because she was fantasizing about her own _brother_, could she? Definitely not.

"Like what?" Ichigo queried suspiciously with a kind of I'm-not-sure-if-you're-telling-the-truth-look.

"Maybe she was drooling over her sexy-beast-of-a-brother! You have to admit, he's got quite a handsome face and a nice and firm… _there_." Matsumoto joked merrily as her hand signaled to her own behind. Her chest bounced up and down with each chuckle.

"Hey! Don't joke around with that stuff!" Renji reprimanded. _Her_, Kuchiki Rukia, daydreaming about her own brother and also the husband of her own sister?! That was absurd and well, _weird!_

The said person cringed at how on mark the 10th division vice-captain was, even if she didn't know it. However, she silently agreed with the merry woman about how her brother had a dashing appearance. Moreover, having lived 50 years in the same house, there was no way that Rukia had not noticed how fine her brother's own bottom was, even if she did not mean to look. She couldn't deny that the curvaceous woman was completely right about the Kuchiki family-head.

She turned away from the ruckus with a pink tinged face.


	7. Nearly Getting There and Taking a Rest

I'm terribly sorry for the absence and the lack of updates! It's been busy at school and something happened and I was not able to use my computer for a good while. This is not a long chapter or anything, but it's a little something. Anyways… On with the show!

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After a good few hours of traveling, a layer of sweat trickled down Rukia's forehead. Even after this long, they were only halfway to their destination-- the outskirts of Rukongai.

In the outskirts of the poor districts of Rukongai, there were the even poorer agricultural regions. However, though the people of that district were even less fortunate, they provided a good amount of the food the population of Rukongai ate. Thus, they played a large role in the balance of the community, even though they were of the lowest class.

Knowing that wiping out even a small portion of the people would pack a punch in the wobbling stability; the new leader of the hollows had attacked there first. That way, even Rukongai itself was indirectly affected by the epidemic. The farmers would either unknowingly spread it while they sold products to those of in the city or the lack of rations would heavily affect the less fortunate in the poor city.

Soul Society had only recognized the signs of their plans once a fair amount of people had fallen ill, but it had been too late. Fair amounts of people were infected and had already contaminated it to others. Soul Society panicked at the thought of how fast the rates of illnesses were going up and had no choice but to instruct everyone to stay out of the streets and to keep themselves in their homes until further notice.

To prevent more people from being polluted by the plague, the Gotei 13 decided to assign shinigami to clear some hollows out of where it had all started. However, the hollows there had proved to be a more difficult feat than imagined. There were not only hollows, but also a few Gilians that were a problem for the shinigamis. They had no choice but to report back to Soul Society.

And that was when the newly reformed Center 46 decided to send in the team for this trip into the depths of Hueco Mundo. .

"Oi. Let's rest for a bit." Renji called out, as he knew exhaustion was creeping into him and the rest of the team. If they were dead-tired and ambushed by hollows, it would surely higher their chances of being utterly demolished. The team skidded to a stop, thankful for the break.

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"There really isn't much here, is there?" Matsumoto inquired, looking around.

The land around them was desolate with patches of ground on the grass bed. They were still a few ways away from the farmlands of Rukongai, but also away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

"We're almost there, though. I can smell the hollows already…" Renji sat down.

Rukia could too. The stench of the blood they spilt was overwhelming. All shinigami skilled on the battlefield could recognize the pungent smell all hollows reeked of.

After settling down, Ichigo said the first words in a while, "Hey, don't you guys find it odd that they're sending so many people on this mission? Wouldn't they want more people to stay in Soul Society to defend?"

Now that got Rukia's attention. Why did they? She had noticed how peculiar it was that they sent two prestigious captains _and_ Ichigo, who was easily also captain level (if not more). Soul Society was notably lacking captains and shinigami, this was a considerably risky move.

Renji and Matsumoto turned to eachother, looked at Rukia, and then started sweating profusely.

_What is with them?_ Rukia glared suspiciously towards the duo. They knew something she and Ichigo did not. Was someone scheming a plot? Had they been tricked?

Aware of the female shinigami burning holes into their backs, Renji and Matsumoto started whispering.

"He doesn't want her knowing, right? But isn't he coming on the mission as well?"

"I wonder why he doesn't want her knowing though. I mean, what's he got to hide? Taic---"

"_Shush!_ She's going to hear you!"

Matsumoto immediately quieted Renji just before the name slipped.

_Damnit._

Rukia berated herself quietly. Throughout the choppy conversation, they had been saying 'she' and 'her', right? She and Matsumoto were the only females on the mission, and because Matsumoto knew, the busty death god was automatically ruled out. And so that only left her, Kuchiki Rukia. But who would go out of their way to look out for her safety? Apparently he was coming on this mission as well. That zoomed in on one person.

Nii-sama.

That was the only conclusion she could come to. No way. He wouldn't go out of his way like that. Kuchiki Byakuya was a busy man, he had no time to protect a weak little girl venturing into hazardous regions.

However, he seemed to the only one with enough power to demand to come along. Being one of the Nobles and also a captain, it wasn't odd that the Center 46 had to listen to him. Despite Center 46 being such a high power, there was no doubt that those who were Nobles were up there with them. Nii-sama being the _Head_ of the esteemed Kuchiki clan made it more so.

But why? _Why?_ Was it because of his promise to Hisana? If it was so, Rukia did not want him to protect her. She refused to be protected over something like that. It was not _her_ that Byakuya was protecting, it was his promise to Hisana.

However, because she did not know the whole story, she kept a mental note not to jump to conclusions.

She also added another note to bully the information out of Renji.

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I had not bothered with editing it as I was running out of time of being able to use the computer, so please forgive me for any you see! If you see any, I would love it if you could tell me where and I'll fix it right away!

And from now on, I'll try, try, _try_ to get chapters out faster, promise! Thank you everyone who stayed and waited for this story, I can't thank you guys enough!


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